When Geoff Westen observes, "You donít go out ... your eyes turn red from sitting too close to the TV set," he's taking an obvious potshot at an easy target. The picture on the cover of Vidiots Tune In!! also features a man with a TV screen for a head, to further drive the media-saturated point home. But then again, with televisions the size of barn doors being built and sold left and right these days, maybe it is about time we once again took a good hard look at the effect TV is having on our plugged-in culture.

Westen's sound is a direct throwback to The Carsí electronic-pop era of the 80s. On the tortured ballad, "Sheís So Young," he comes off like a cross between Ric Ocasek and Hall & Oates. These CD tracks feature programmed keyboards, dance rhythms, and songs that would have fit nicely into MTVís playlist back in the day. With "Action Man," Westen switches from The Cars to Devo, once again sounding uncannily like the original source. "Some Of You Girls" seems to take a few of its instrumental ideas right from Herbie Hancock's "Rockit."

Clearly, Westen has more control over electronic gadgets and television than over the opposite sex. Girls are often described as a complicated and difficult to understand species. "Some of you girls donít know when to stop," he complains during "Some Of You Girls." Then with "Donít Stop The Kiss" he moans, "Your eyes say yes ... your heart says no." At least one doesnít need to be, say, Valentino, just to turn the TV set on.

Itís hard to figure out if Westen is making retro music to be retro cool, or if heís actually stuck in the past. I have a soft spot for New Wave music, so much of Vidiots Tune In!! is appealing to me. Westen is obviously a talented and creative musician.

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